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Mystery loon



I went to Lake Norman, NC, on Sunday Dec. 8, and I noticed a black and
white bird on the water a quarter of a mile from shore on the branch
north of Langtree Road, one mile west of the Davidson College Lake
Campus. It was definitively a loon but the color pattern was not
familiar (I have seen Common and Yellow-throated Loons before). The bird
had a very white throat and cheeks contrasting with a very dark, almost
black crown, nape, and back of its neck. The upperparts were mostly
dark. When swimming it showed a white patch on its sides, just under the
wings. I checked Sibley's, and the Seabirds guide (sorry, I don't
remember the author), and the only loon that fits that description is an
Arctic Loon in basic plumage. Checking the Carolina records I found that
the Arctic loon has never been found on the Eastern Seaboard. A possible
alternative could be a basic Pacific Loon, but the shining white patches
don't seem to fit. There was another loon on the lake, possibly a Common
Loon, but its color pattern was very different from the first bird.
Has anybody been birding Lake Norman lately and seen a mystery loon?

Fernando Segade
Winston-Salem, NC